


your slightest look easily will unclose me

by lizwontcry



Category: Succession (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-24 15:40:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21800344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizwontcry/pseuds/lizwontcry
Summary: "Read me a poem or something,” Roman blurts out.“What? Why?” Gerri is genuinely befuddled.“I like your voice,” Roman admits. “It gives me a boner.”“Obviously,” Gerri says. “We wouldn’t be in this situation if it weren’t for you being a slime puppy.”Gerri and Roman work together to turn Waystar RoyCo back into a functioning company while also trying to figure out what exactly they want--and need--from each other.
Relationships: Gerri Kellman/Roman "Romulus" Roy
Comments: 11
Kudos: 75
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LearnedFoot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LearnedFoot/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide! You gave so many good prompts that I just couldn't stop writing the damn thing. So thank you, and I hope you like it!

your slightest look easily will unclose me  
though i have closed myself as fingers,  
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens  
(touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose

**\- somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond - e.e. Cummings -**

*****

Nothing is ever the same after Kendall's press conference. Maybe it's better this way, but who really knows? The family couldn't go on as they always had, anyway. Ever since Logan's stroke, the power had been up for grabs and nothing was sacred.

In the weeks following the announcement, Logan tells everyone who would listen that he never knew about the cruise scandal, that it was kept from him by Lester McClintock and he had no knowledge of it. The few documents that Greg was able to salvage tells a different story, and eventually Logan had to answer for the crimes that were covered up in his name. At the shareholder meeting, the board appoints Gerri as CEO of Waystar Royco, since her name is on the top of the list and they all believe she is the best option to run the company while Logan is on trial. Although the stock tanks for a few weeks, Gerri and Roman, as sole COO, work day and night on getting it back to a manageable position. Shiv helps with public relations, and Kendall hides away with Naomi until this whole thing blows over. Which is not any time soon.

But even before the press conference, before the blood sacrifice on the yacht, before the bathroom incident at Tern Haven, before the phone call from management training that started it all, before Gerri helped Roman with his buttons… there was Japan.

*****

Things change in Japan.

It goes without saying that it definitely was not love at first sight between Gerri and Roman. Gerri first met Roman when he was 10 years old and Baird was interviewing for a job with Logan. She and Baird were newlyweds, and this was Baird’s chance to finally enter the big leagues after putting himself through law school. It was a warm June day, and Roman was playing with his Gameboy in Logan’s office. He barely looked up when Logan introduced Gerri and Baird to his young, unfocused son. Gerri didn’t think much of the kid at the time, to be honest. After barely scraping by enough money to get through law school, she looked down at the trust fund babies who took nothing seriously while she had to study her ass off to get by. Roman was probably going to grow up and be just like those assholes, Gerri thought. She wasn’t far off from the truth.

As it did many things, Logan’s stroke is what changed their relationship. When Roman first approached her in the hospital about taking over as CEO while Logan was incapacitated, it was not exactly a surprise that Roman didn’t know, didn’t remember, or didn’t care that Baird had died. He was even at the goddamn funeral. However, there was something about Roman’s demeanor that struck a chord in Gerri at the hospital that day. He seemed slightly vulnerable, like Logan’s frail state had shaken him, scared him, and turned him back into a little boy who wanted to be locked in a cage with some chocolate cake.

Gerri sees potential in Roman, even when no one else, not even his siblings, can see it themselves. The satellite launch was a disappointing setback, she would be the first (well, second, next to Logan) to admit. However, she’s starting to look at the bigger picture here. Maybe a partnership with the underdog of the Roy family would benefit both of them. This could, perhaps, work.

*****

Gerri is looking all over the hotel for Roman, that little shit. She finds him at the bar, sitting by himself at a table by the window, staring at some emails he had printed out. From the looks of it, and from what she's learning about him on this trip, he's probably on his second or third glass of whisky.

"Rome," she says, sitting next to him. "I've been looking all over for you."

Roman looks up from his papers, looking disoriented. "Oh. Gerri. Hey. Why have you been looking for me? Did something else that I was responsible for explode again?"

"No. Because I'm hungry. We were going to try Ishikawa tonight, remember? You were looking forward to finally getting a chance to eat there…”

She and Roman have been in Japan for three days dealing with the launch disaster. At first she had no intention of accompanying him to Japan, but he asked her politely. And she did acknowledge that he probably could use a chaperone; lord knows what kind of trouble he'd get into without one. 

The first day, they went to the hospital to visit the victims of the explosion. Roman was friendly and engaging, and he made all of them laugh. It turns out the doctor was able to save the arm, but the guys who lost thumbs were out of luck. By the time Roman left, all of the victims were in good spirits. Gerri was thoroughly impressed with his demeanor and ability to smooth things over. 

What Gerri didn't see coming was some kind of odd bonding ritual with Roman. They brought along a small entourage of assistants and other necessary employees, but they all went out in a pack together and didn't want anything to do with the General Counsel and General Fuck-up of the Roy clan. So Gerri and Roman discovered new restaurants together, where they would actually take a few minutes to get to know one another outside of the usual grind they go through in the circus that is Waystar Royco.

Now she finds herself craving his company; she wants to laugh at his stupid jokes and disconnect from her lawyerly existence for a few hours a day. It's unsettling, for so many reasons.

"Oh, yeah, give me a few more minutes. I'm just going over the statement I'm giving to the press tomorrow."

"Again?" She asks, impressed with Roman's diligence.

"Yeah, I want to make sure I don't sound like a fucking imbecile up there."

"I doubt you will, Rome. You've gone over it a thousand times. You got this."

"Oh, yeah? You really think so?" He looks up at her, and she sees that her opinion means a lot to him. It's not like that is a huge surprise. Ever since they've been spending more time together, Gerri has witnessed a few things about Roman that she didn't notice before. First of all, when he wants to be good at something; when he wants to nail it and shock everyone with his competence, Roman is a rock star. But he has to _really_ care about something in order to do so. 

She does happen to pick up on the fact that Roman not only sees her as a "stone cold killer bitch," but also as someone he trusts. He invests a lot in her counsel, and takes what she says seriously. There's something else there, too, though. She's seen it before in other men, obviously. Over the years, she's developed a theory that her straight-laced exterior, her glasses, her bossiness, etc., attracts a certain kind of male gaze. They work with her on a deal and then assume there must be some wild cat underneath the formal clothing and pearls. Which very well may be true but none of them are going to find that out any time soon. Of course she uses it to her advantage occasionally. But with Roman, she's not sure what to do about it or if she even wants to address it at all. It feels like maybe his interest in her goes past a mentor/mentee friendship. She had to admit to herself that she finds the whole situation intriguing, not to mention flattering. 

Roman finishes his drink in one big gulp, grabs his papers and says, “Let’s blow this pop stand,” and Gerri chuckles.

“That’s more of a saying from my era,” Gerri remarks.

“Well, I do respect my elders,” Roman says. 

The teasing thing is new. They are testing it out. It’s almost like they’re becoming friends or something, which Gerri definitely did not think was possible once upon a time. She likes it, though. It’s a new thing in a life that hasn’t had a lot of new things lately.

They walk together through the streets of Tokyo. Both of them have been here a time or two, but it’s still a fascinating city. The lights, the culture, the people, the wealth; it’s all a topic of conversation while they roam around the streets and find a table at Ishikawa.

Roman predictably orders the wagyu tongue with eggplant and tofu. Gerri orders the charcoal grilled unagi. They have appetizers and plenty of sake, and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of meal, even though Gerri has had many of these lifetimes with the Roy family. 

“I always wanted to come here with Baird, but he never liked Japan. He loved Europe, though. His parents were from Scotland, so we went there every Christmas.” Gerri does not look impressed with her frequent trips to Scotland.

“I don’t remember much about the guy, but he seemed like he had no sense of humor,” Roman says. “I mean, no offense, but like… what was with the stick up his ass?”

Gerri smiles sadly. “He was a serious guy. Didn’t have much time for humor. He made up for it in other ways, though.”

“How? Was he a fucking wizard in the bedroom or something?” 

As usual, Roman has no tact. This is made worse with the sake penetrating his brainpan. 

“No, that definitely was not it,” Gerri surprises herself by saying. Maybe the sake is getting to her, too. “But he was an amazing father. The girls loved him so much. He worked as much as I do now but always tried to be home for dinner with them.”

“What an A+ dude,” Roman says. “How long since he died?”

“It’s been five years,” Gerri says. Time is so weird; she was married to him for twenty years, but the five years that have passed since he died have felt much longer than their marriage. She should probably talk to a good shrink about that, but who has the time? Gerri wants to change the subject.

“Are you dating anyone right now?”

Roman nods. “Her name is Tabitha. She blew Tom at his bachelor party. It was hot.”

Gerri doesn’t know how to respond to this. “Sounds like a nice girl.”

“She’s cool. She never asks for anything and doesn't seem to care about the money at all. Plus she’s really fucking tall and blonde, so I have that going for me.”

They eat in silence for a moment, savoring the flavors and presentation of the amazing food. 

“So… do you think my dad is really going to sell? And if he doesn’t, what is he going to do with Kendall? He’s out, right? Kendall has to be fuckin’ out. He is a disgusting pile of rat shit right now. I mean… fuck.”

Gerri shakes her head. “At this point, it’s hard to say. I don’t know what Logan is going to do. He wasn’t expecting the bear hug, and now he’s going to have to pull his way up from that situation. My guess? He’s not going to sell. He’ll leave Kendall out in the cold for a while. It’s possible he’ll appoint you as COO, and I’m fairly sure he’s going to be CEO until it’s pulled out of his cold, dead hands. That’s my prediction but it’s a murky pool right now.”

She has Roman’s full attention now.

“You really think he’ll make me COO?”

“It’s a real possibility. But again, I can’t see the future. I used to have a better read on your dad, but he’s a mystery lately.”

Roman nods, and takes another drink of sake. Gerri knows he’s not finished with his questions. She waits patiently for the next one.

“Do you think I can do it?” He sounds like a little boy. Gerri feels a weird sympathy for the guy. Sometimes he tries so hard to be taken seriously. If he just hadn’t spent most of his life as the class clown…

“I think you can. It’ll be hard at first, but you’ll pick it up as you go along. And I’ll help. I really think you have potential to do more than you know, Roman.”

“Thank you. That’s cool of you to say. Hey, want to come back to my hotel room with me? Just putting it out there.”

Gerri gives him a stern look. He immediately stops grinning like the Joker and says, “Sorry, sorry, that was inappropriate. I am very drunk.”

“Uh-huh. Just as long as you know that.” She doesn’t want him to get any ideas. “Make sure you drink a lot of water before you go to bed. You have a big press conference tomorrow.”

Roman nods in acknowledgement, looking like he's fading more from reality with every passing second. They finish dinner and share dessert, and then Gerri holds on to Roman while they make the short walk back to the hotel. She takes his keycard and opens his door (since he is not capable of such things at the moment). While Roman stumbles in and falls on the bed, she finds a glass and fills it with water, and then takes two aspirin out of her purse. She puts them on the bedside table and hopes Roman will find them eventually. 

Back in her room, as she gets ready for bed, she thinks about what an interesting evening it was. Roman is actually a good traveling companion--she supposes she shouldn’t be too surprised by that. After all, he’s had to be charming all of his life and probably knows how to talk to and get along with just about anyone. But still. She had a nice night. Maybe she’ll think about having another nice night soon enough.

Although he wakes up a groggy mess in the morning, Roman rallies and makes it through the press conference with flying colors. They go home the next day, with the Japan ordeal behind them, a newly minted friendship in front of them.


	2. Chapter 2

It all happens in a whirlwind when they return from Japan. Logan appoints both Roman and Kendall as co-chief officers, which Roman fucking hates but it’s better than nothing. Although the job can be entirely overwhelming at times, Gerri is always there to advise Roman. Sometimes he doesn’t even have to ask, and she’s by his side, talking him through it, making sure he understands all facets of the situation he's facing. Her guidance is invaluable and he can never thank her enough.

Roman sees Gerri in a different light since they’ve gotten back. Their relationship--if he can call it that?--has changed, for the better. The wheels are turning in his mind--maybe this can be something. It’s undefined at first--Roman doesn’t know what in the hell he wants with Gerri. Does he want a mother, a lover, a partner, a mixture of all three? It’s confusing as fuck, but it also gives him something to look forward to. Another two hour meeting about some boring bullshit lawsuit he has nothing to do with--well, that’s two hours he can sit next to Gerri and observe her, take notes about her, have disgusting fantasies about her that would surely shock everyone else at the table, including her.

Roman has never taken work seriously enough to have a crush on someone at the office. It makes every interaction he has with Gerri more interesting and slightly dangerous. Every time he has to pick up the phone and call her about some work-related matter, it’s the most exciting part of his day. He knows this is all a very terrible idea and will probably end badly, but it just keeps happening. 

He stops being very subtle about it after Kendall fucks up with the attempted bear hug. It’s like… Logan is always pissed, Kendall is a weird shadow of himself lately, Shiv is off in some fucking dream world, and Gerri is basically the only person he can talk to these days. Even Tabitha isn’t being as cool as usual, and he rarely has time to spend with her, anyway.

Roman would be the first one to admit he fucked up with the Pierce thing. He thought he’d earn points with his dad if he could orchestrate the meeting, but of course it blows up in his face. At least he doesn’t have to fight over a fucking sausage on the floor like fucking Tom, Greg and Karl. When Gerri comes to check up on him the next day, he’s so fucking hungover he can’t even deal with buttoning his shirt. Gerri helps him button it, and thinks she’s being sly when she checks him out in the process. Oh, yeah, he saw that, and he’s keeping it in his spank bank long into the future. Okay, so he’s attracted to her. Who the fuck isn’t? 

Fucking management training. It has been suggested to Roman countless times by countless people that it wouldn’t hurt to go to management training if he really wants to prove to Logan that he’s worthy of being taken seriously. He supposes it’s not a coincidence that he finally agrees to go because Gerri made him believe it was a good idea. 

When Roman calls Gerri after his first day of management training, her voice is a much more welcome sound than Tabitha’s, which should say a lot but for whatever reason, Roman isn’t putting too much thought into why. 

By now, their relationship is more than just teasing and subtle flirtation. Roman feels right at home (lovingly) calling her a bitch and other niceties during their conversation. Gerri’s willingness to endure his attempt at phone sex--not only endure it but possibly enjoy it?--is not something he anticipated, but it just cements the strange turn their relationship has taken.

And Tern Haven? Well, that’s the icing on the cake. He doesn’t know exactly what he’s looking for when he goes to Gerri’s room, but he finds it anyway. Roman feels sorry for the housekeeper who finds the soiled robe in her pile of laundry.

Before Roman leaves Gerri’s room--he can barely even look at her when he emerges from the bathroom--she puts her warm hand on his still shaky arm. 

“Roman… you need to break up with Tabitha if you want anything like this to happen again. Understand? This isn’t fair to her.”

All Roman hears is “again” and he is definitely on board with this instruction. He just nods, because he’s afraid if he opens his mouth he’ll fucking declare his all consuming love for Gerri or something. 

Tabitha is technically the one who breaks it off shortly after they return from Logan’s party in Dundee. They are enjoying a nice dinner and having a pleasant conversation about how weird it is that Tabitha’s former sex friend Naomi is now having relations with Roman’s brother.

“I guess that kind of makes me and Kendall eskimo brothers,” Roman says.

Tabitha chuckles. “That’s not particularly how it works but you’ve got the right idea. Rome… it’s okay if we don’t have sex. Really, it’s cool. I would like for you to consider an open relationship, though--”

“What? Fuck no,” Roman says automatically, although his sexcapades with Gerri could technically count as cheating. So yeah, of course he’s a liar and hypocrite, but does that really surprise anyone? “We’ll fuck tonight. Don’t have dessert, we’ll go home and make our own.”

Tabitha rolls her eyes. “That’s not going to happen and I’m tired of pretending that it’s even a possibility. It’s not your thing. But it is _my_ thing, and I’d be happier in this relationship if I was getting some.”

Roman tries to ponder this like an adult and not just dismiss her real and valid thoughts. “I understand, Tab. But I don’t think I’m comfortable with that.”

“Okay. Thank you for at least considering it. I think in that case, though… I’m done here.” She shrugs, like it’s just that easy. Which, Roman supposes, it is. They gave it a shot, and it didn’t work out. However, he gives it one more try.

“What if I gave you, like, a million fucking dollars right now? I can write you a check.”

“Tempting,” Tabitha laughs. “But no thank you. That’s never why I was with you. Hopefully one day you’ll stop proposing to everyone and offering them money to stay. You’re a reasonably good person underneath that asshole exterior, Rome. You’re worthy of love from someone out there. Just not me.”

Roman doesn’t quite know how to respond to that, so he signals to the waiter that he’s ready for the check. He and Tabitha make small talk until dinner is thankfully over and they part for the evening, in separate cars, of course.

Tabitha probably made the right call, seeing that while she was taking a fucking nap in Dundee, Roman was in Gerri’s room proposing (or whatever that was) to her. It was a spur of the moment thing, obviously; Roman took no time to consider any possible ramifications, as usual. He quickly realizes from her stunned reaction that offering marriage to someone whom you’ve never shared any real romantic moments with is probably not a normal thing to do. Not surprisingly, she doesn’t answer him. Which is probably a good thing, since he wouldn’t know how to handle it if she did actually want to marry him. 

When Gerri comes to him about speaking to Eduard about securing the money to go private, Roman tries his damndest to make it happen. It’s important to Gerri, but it’s also important to Logan, and the company. If Roman is going to be taken seriously, he has to prove himself. So he “seduces” Eduard to his best abilities. He also buys the wrong soccer team in the process, but that’s just the price of doing business.

Roman supposes being taken hostage by who-the-fuck-knows in Turkey is also the price of doing business. He can’t help but wonder if Gerri will respect him more now that he was basically almost murdered doing a task she requested of him. 

If so… then it was all worth it.

*****

It’s becoming clear that someone is going to have to pay for the cruises scandal. Gerri has been fired by Logan so many times, she’s lost count--he always comes to her, hat in hand, begging her to come back, and of course she does. But this feels different. It feels more permanent.

By the time they get to the yacht, Gerri’s nerves are completely frayed and her emotions are in a heightened state of frenzy. First of all, she’s been incredibly nervous about Roman’s escapade in Turkey. She was proud of him for taking the initiative to go in the first place, and had faith that he would land the deal for Logan. But once she heard that he had been taken hostage, she went down a spiral of equally blaming herself for getting Roman into the entire situation in the first place, while being in a panic about his safety and well-being. Gerri gets the call when she’s watching Pierce News, drinking a martini, and nervously pacing around her hotel room in DC at 3:30 AM. It’s from an international number, and her heart nearly stops beating as she answers.

“Hello?!”

“Gerri! It’s me. I’m fine. Please tell everyone I’m fine.”

“Roman! Where are you?” She sits down, trying to calm her nerves, trying to keep the adrenaline from overwhelming her. 

“I’m getting on a plane to… somewhere, I don’t fucking know. Laird called Hugo and they’re handling it. This is the pilot’s phone, I think. They took mine at the hotel. You’re the first person I called. I can’t… I don’t know.”

“Okay, Roman. It’s going to be okay. Just get on the plane and sit down. I’ll speak to Hugo and find out what the plan is. We’re boarding the yacht at some point tomorrow, so I assume I’ll see you there soon.”

Silence. It’s just an eerie silence on the other end of the phone.

“Roman? Are you there?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here. I just want to listen to your voice for a second, okay? Talk to me about the hearings. I’m sitting down. I’m listening.”

So she sits down, too. She tells him about Tom’s fucking idiot testimony, and how well Kendall did, and all the other gossip from Washington. Roman even chuckles a few times. 

When Gerri finally finishes her update, Roman says, “Thanks, Gerri. Thank you. I’ll see you on the yacht.”

They hang up shortly after, both realizing that something is different, but not knowing how to define it just yet.


	3. Chapter 3

The yacht is a nightmare from beginning to end--with a few exceptions, of course. 

When Roman first arrives, Gerri is so happy to see him, she nearly kisses him on the lips right there in front of his whole family. Although he’s obviously shaken up from the hostage ordeal, he still looks good. Mellow. Not completely traumatized and dead inside as she’d feared, at least. She can’t wait to have a moment alone with him to talk about what happened.

They don’t get a chance until after dinner, which is fraught with tension and worry. This doesn’t seem to deter Logan, who apparently isn’t at all bothered by how worried his family and trusted employees are about the situation. After dinner, everyone is tired and cranky; they all go back to their rooms to revisit their own personal traumas. Roman waits a respectable 30 minutes or so before he makes his way to Gerri's cabin.

Once Roman finally makes it to her room, she opens the door even before he has a chance to knock. When he steps inside, Gerri grabs him and hugs him closely. Roman holds her tightly, grateful for the warmth of her touch.

When she finally releases him, he seems rather speechless for a moment. Then he says, “Jesus, Ger, you must be hornier than usual.” She rolls her eyes, although they both realize what he really means and can’t bring himself to say.

“I was so worried about you, Rome,” Gerri admits. Roman comes in and sits backwards in the chair by her desk. Gerri sits like a normal person on the plush cream-colored couch. “Was it horrible? Of course it was horrible.”

“I mean, it was fucking scary, but we got through it. And then I was able to make a good pitch, so that’s what counts, right?”

“I suppose… but I hear you don’t think it’s real?”

Roman nods. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure it’s bullshit. My dad agrees with me, actually. So I guess we’re back at square one with the whole sacrifice shitshow.”

“Yes… something to look forward to for tomorrow,” Gerri says. Her stomach has been in knots for days now. If Logan picks Gerri to pay for the cruises scandal, not only will she lose her career, but her reputation she’s spent so long building, too. This is not how she envisioned her later years.

Roman furrows his brow, and then comes over to sit by Gerri. He puts his hand on her leg--slightly awkward, but she gets his intentions. It’s sweet, actually.

“Gerri… he’d be a fucking idiot to pick you for this. There’s so many other fuck-ups who should have to pay. Karl and Frank for one. Fucking Tom and Greg, the syphillis twins. Whatever. You shouldn’t be the one.”

Gerri shrugs. “I don’t know, Rome. The General Counsel is usually the first one to go…”

Roman looks thoughtful. “If he tries to put you on the chopping block, I’ll defend you. Not because of… our thing, or whatever you want to call it, but because you seriously don’t deserve it. It’s bullshit. You’ve saved our asses countless times and he can’t repay you like this. He just can’t.”

Gerri is touched by Roman’s sincerity. She’s hardly ever seen this side of him before, though she’s always known it existed in there somewhere. 

“You don’t have to do that, but I appreciate the sentiment.” 

They’re both quiet for a minute, lost in thought. 

“Well, we have a long day ahead tomorrow,” Gerri finally says. “We need our sleep.”

“Is that an invitation? How bold of you, Gerri,” Roman says, back to the dipshit everyone knows and loves.

Gerri ponders this for a moment. _Does_ she want to spend the night with him? It would be a great comfort to have him by her side, but she doesn’t really want comfort right now. She wants to live in her thoughts and be worried for her future--alone. 

“Not tonight,” she says softly, and she thinks he understands--she hopes he understands.

“Got it,” Roman says. They both stand up and she walks him to the door.

Roman surprises both of them by leaning in and kissing her on the lips. It’s not a huge shock or anything--this is how their relationship has been progressing--and it doesn’t send shockwaves through Gerri’s soul or anything but it’s nice. A solid first kiss.

“Good night,” Roman says, and avoids her eyes when he leaves. Gerri can’t help but smile a little as the door closes.

*****

The scene at breakfast turns out to be a bloodbath, as expected. What Gerri somehow didn’t see coming was how quickly almost everyone turns on her. Karl, who she’s never particularly been fond of anyway, and Kendall, and Frank, even Connor. They actually make some good points, which is the most unnerving. Logan looks as though he’s seriously considering it. Roman is the only one to defend her, staying true to his promise after all. His argument--that it would look bad to fire a senior woman when the scandal was about losing women--makes sense and seems to be the deciding factor in Logan’s decision.

By the end of breakfast, though, Logan seems more troubled than before. He leaves the table saying he has “half an idea” and would talk to them all later. Everyone sits there looking at each other, pride in tatters, mad and frustrated and angry in their own ways, before gradually getting up and disappearing back into their own worlds.

Gerri is the last one at the table. She mindlessly looks at her phone, thinking about what just transpired--the reality of what happened. Roman stood up for her. Roman put his own ass on the line to defend her from being sacrificed. Gerri is on the precipice of accepting what she’s been trying to deny for weeks now--she and Roman are becoming closer than ever, so close that he may be the only person in the company she can trust. Not only that, she has real feelings for him that aren’t going away, and obviously, he feels the same way. This isn’t just a flirtation anymore.

Gerri is so drained from all of this that she goes to her cabin and takes a two-hour nap, which she never does. When she wakes up, she takes a walk to see what everyone else is up to and if anyone needs her. Logan and Kendall are gone--she has a feeling they went on a journey to wherever Stewy happens to be. _Good luck with that,_ she thinks. Karl and Frank are having a drink (or seven), Greg is moping in the corner somewhere, Shiv and Tom went off together probably to have a huge fight or something. Everyone is suitably preoccupied, Gerri notes. 

Minutes later, she’s knocking on Roman’s door. It takes him a minute or two to answer--Gerri figures he was either jerking off or taking a nap. She doesn’t ask for clarification. Roman immediately starts babbling as soon as Gerri enters his room.

“Holy shit, that was so ugly. I’m going to kill Greg, that fucking clown, can you believe him? Who do you think my dad--”

Gerri silences Roman by kissing him. This time it’s a real kiss with some power behind it. Roman grabs her ass mid-kiss, which she allows. When she finally releases him, Roman stumbles back a bit, like the sheer passion of the kiss destroyed his sense of gravity.

“What--”

“I don’t want to talk about it. You defended me. I appreciate it. Now shut up.”

Roman shuts up. He can see this is actually going somewhere he’ll probably enjoy, Gerri imagines.

“Get on the bed,” Gerri says in her bossy voice. Roman again does as he’s told, trying to keep the grin off his reddening face.

“Roman, you are… disgusting. Your family can’t even stand you, do you realize that? Your cousin thinks you’re a horrible human being, and he’s right.”

She pauses while Roman reaches into his pants, and she watches as he starts to stroke himself. God forbid, this has become one of her biggest turn-ons lately, not that she’d ever admit that, to him or anyone else.

“You are ungrateful, you’re barely a grown-up toddler. I don’t know how any of your girlfriends put up with you, especially now that I see that tiny piece of crap you call your dick.”

This is not very nice, and it’s not even true. From what Gerri can see, it’s actually a bit above average. But this is the game they play, and she’s not going to change the rules.

“You are more than just a slime puppy. You’re a garbage man. You’re a boil on the ass of society. If you weren’t the son of a billionaire, you would be fucking nothing. Nobody would even think of you twice if they saw you on the street…”

She watches with satisfaction as Roman comes, moaning and grunting all the way. Now she’s all hot and bothered, not that she expects him to notice. That’s _not_ the game they play.

Except… Roman wipes himself off with a sheet from the bed, and now he’s looking at her like they’re not done yet. Gerri is still standing, leaning against the wall. Roman approaches her slowly, and she wonders what in the world is about to happen. 

He starts off pressing himself against her and kissing her, right there against the wall. This is a better kiss than before; it’s more rough than it is gentle, which she is definitely appreciating right now. Gerri knows her body is reacting to this rare show of sexual passion from Roman. It’s been a long fucking time but she can feel herself getting wetter by the second as he kisses her, bites her lip, sucks gently and then harder on her neck. He unbuttons her blouse and his hand is on her breast in seconds, caressing a nipple under her bra. Before she even has a moment to enjoy _that,_ his other hand is unbuttoning her pants. Gerri gasps as Roman touches her clit, going quickly from stroking it to one finger inside of her, two fingers inside of her. She lets out another gasp as he works his fingers inside of her, biting her neck, licking her nipple. Honestly, Gerri had no idea Roman had any of this in him. It’s a nice surprise. Maybe someday they’ll actually have intercourse.

Gerri hasn’t come like this in--she doesn’t even know how long. When she stops gasping and writhing against his fingers, Roman is satisfied that she’s had enough. The two of them untangle themselves and take a minute to catch their breath. Gerri buttons everything back up while Roman flings himself on the bed.

“See you at dinner,” Gerri says, still slightly out of breath.

“Yeah, you will,” Roman manages to say.

Gerri goes back to her room and takes a shower, thoroughly satisfied, almost even happy.

*****

At dinner, Gerri and Roman sit next to each other. Gerri feels like everyone can tell what happened with them in Roman’s room, but as usual, all the Roys and friends have their own melodramas going on. Shiv and Tom look like they may never speak to each other again, for example. Obviously Gerri is still nervous about Logan’s announcement, but she’s also so incredibly relaxed from her mind-shattering orgasm that she almost doesn’t care anymore. Almost.

While they wait for Logan and Kendall to come to the table, Gerri can’t help but steal glances at Roman. He looks so handsome. Like an actual adult, even. She wants to groan at how deep she’s into this thing now, but there’s nothing she can do about it. 

That’s when Logan and Kendall appear, and Logan announces that Kendall is going to take the fall for cruises. Gerri is not completely surprised by this turn of events, actually. Kendall does make sense, unfortunately, and as she said, Logan’s second born son would be an adequate sacrifice. She feels terrible for Roman, though. He looks so distraught and worried for his brother. So distraught and so worried that she lets him sleep with her that night. No funny business. 

He never stops holding her the entire night. It’s the best night of sleep she’s had in years.

*****

Gerri and Roman watch Kendall’s press conference in Roman’s room. That is, until Kendall goes off script.

“Oh, shit. Oh, fuck. I have to go check on Dad,” Roman says, panic in his voice.

“Go,” Gerri says, her own heart beating out of her chest. Roman races out of the room. 

For a moment, she only thinks of what a fucking disaster this is going to be for her own life; not only will she be dealing with the legal repercussions of this bullshit for a long time, but her name is still on top of the list as successor at this point. Shit. Fuck. 

Then she takes a deep breath and thinks of Karolina, who is probably melting down right now herself, and how this is a public relations crisis that even she won’t likely be able to repair. And of course Gerri can’t imagine how Roman’s feeling, watching his brother betray their father like that in such a public forum. This is going to change everything, and she’s not sure if she’s ready.


	4. Chapter 4

After Gerri is appointed CEO by the board, she and Roman work together night and day to fix what is perhaps irrevocably broken in the company. It’s a true shitshow in every meaning of the word for months. Meetings upon meetings, conference calls every hour of the day, so many late nights that it starts to become normal not to leave the office until they’re both so tired, they can’t keep their eyes open. While it’s chaotic and frustrating, it’s also exciting. Roman is learning that being put through the fire as sole COO is a challenge that he’s ready for, actually.

Since they are spending so much time together, and in high-stress, fast-paced situations, the two of them have created a powerful bond. They constantly bounce ideas off each other, so much that that they can just share a look and know what the other is thinking. This is the early days of something important. It’s not just Gerri insulting Roman into an orgasm or Roman tugging on Gerri’s skirt like a lost puppy. This is a partnership. And it’s getting them through an otherwise impossible ordeal.

*****

Roman is in a meeting with the new head of Parks, Melissa Reed, when he first sees Gerri with Justin McMillan. He is so distracted, he accidentally calls Melissa “Melanie” and she looks at him like he insulted her mother. 

“Sorry, Melissa, excuse me, I am just so excited about what we’re doing with Parks that I couldn’t concentrate for a second,” he says, trying to cover his tracks.

Melissa’s assistant, Veronica, chuckles under her breath and Roman ignores her. It’s not exactly Roman’s fault that Veronica gave him a hand job (his first ever) on the ghost train, like, 20 years ago, and then he never called her again. How she ended up as Melissa’s assistant, he’ll never know, but he figures it’s karma of some kind.

“Right. Well, thanks for meeting with me today, Roman. We are determined to get the numbers up for Parks in the next six months.”

“Please do. We’re fucking bleeding out of our asses here,” Roman says, and Melissa frowns. Sometimes he forgets that not everyone appreciates his dirty mouth, but then again… he is her boss so fuck it.

“I’ll catch up with you in a minute, Melissa, if that’s okay. I have a question for Roman,” Veronica says.

Melissa nods and hurries out of the office.

“Wow, she just fuckin’ hates you,” Veronica says. “I can’t imagine why.”

Roman exhales. “What’s up, Ronnie? What can I do for you? Besides close the door and whip it out again.”

“Please. Not with a ten-foot pole. I was just wondering… do you know who that alarmingly handsome man is with Gerri?”

Roman looks over in the direction of her office. She’s perched on the edge of her desk and he’s sitting in front of her in a chair. It looks like she’s laughing at something he said. Roman is already not a fan of this guy.

“No, why don’t you enlighten me?”

“God, Roman, you really are a fucking imbecile. It’s Justin McMillan. He’s the COO of Maxwell & Company.”

“The management consulting firm?”

“Yeah. So why do you think he’s meeting with Gerri?”

“I don’t fucking know… maybe she’s thinking of merging us with his firm…”

Veronica pinches his arm. She always was a huge asshole.

“To me, there’s only two possibilities. One, they’re fucking. Two, she’s going to bring him in as COO. Either way, you should probably know what’s going on. Wouldn’t she tell you if she was thinking of merging with his firm? That’s something her COO should know before she brings the guy in.”

Roman is at a loss for words. It happens sometimes. But now his heart is tinged with worry. Who is this guy, and why is he staring at Gerri’s stockinged legs? 

“How do you know who he is, anyway? Did you fuck him, too?” Roman asks to take some of the sting away from her words.

“Everyone knows who he is. Watch the fucking news that your father owns every now and then, dipshit.”

Roman can’t take his eyes off of Gerri and Justin. Veronica gets closer to him and whispers, “Fight for it, Roman. Don’t let this guy have what’s yours.”

He doesn’t know whether she’s talking about the role of COO or Gerri herself. Either way, he wasn’t aware that either of those things were up for grabs until five minutes ago.

“Get the fuck out of here, Veronica. Don’t you have some ass kissing to do? Melissa is probably long gone by now.”

“Ooh, touchy. I get it. I’ll see you around, Rome. Just be careful.”

“Whatever,” he says. Veronica blows him a kiss and then leaves, while he continues to wonder about the scenario unfolding in Gerri’s office.

*****

Roman is the one who puts together the deal to buy Maxim Media, a company similar to Vaulter, except it actually makes sense to purchase it, and he’s not just trying to make Daddy proud with another investment, like Kendall was.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, an old boarding school buddy of Roman’s, is actually the one to come to him with the deal. There are so many meetings, phone calls, huddled conferences with Gerri (that, he didn’t mind so much), but a plan is coming together. Acquiring Maxim would add a ton of value to Waystar RoyCo, and Roman is sure that it will help to bring the company out of the shallow grave it’s been buried in since Kendall fucked everyone over at the press conference. 

Gerri assures him he’s on the right track. She also shares some of the ideas she’s had over the years, and Roman thinks most of them are brilliant. He is into this partnership of theirs. Not only does he like jerking off to the sound of her voice, but he also thinks working together somehow makes them both better. They seem to have similar ideas, and an efficient way of making them come to life. This can work. This _will_ work.

*****

Gerri hosts a “girl’s night” dinner at her house on the Upper East Side. Roman, who has quietly been living at Gerri’s for weeks now, gets thrown out for the evening. She invites Cyd and Karolina, of course, and some of her other powerful girlfriends she hasn’t seen in a while. She briefly considers making some food, but ends up ordering in Italian, obviously. There is also wine. A lot of wine.

The girls come over and Gerri pours the wine, and the laughing and the shit talking starts rather quickly. Gerri’s good friend Anastasia, a playwright and author she met all the way back in her college days at Northwestern, tells everyone about an actress she hired for a new play she’s written.

“This girl is like 23, right? She walks in and wants to read for Ivy, the protagonist of the play. Of course she’s beautiful in only the way someone who possesses such youth can be. And she says--to me, the writer of the fucking play--’I don’t think my character would say something this obtuse. Do you mind if I change the wording a bit?’ Like, yes, honey, I do mind. Please say the fucking lines as intended, you gorgeous young asshole.”

Everyone chuckles. Karolina gets up to open another bottle of wine. Gerri debates on having more garlic bread. _Fuck it,_ she thinks, and gets _two_ more pieces.

“So how’s the Crapstar FuckCo going these days?” Sara asks. Sara is CEO of a marketing company she started in her basement 20 years ago. Gerri has always admired her dedication and motivation, and lately, her paychecks, too. 

“It’s… interesting,” Gerri remarks. If they only knew. “CEO is not what I imagined. It’s a new problem every hour of the day.”

“Welcome to my life,” Sara says, and Cyd and Anastasia nod thoughtfully. Karolina raises her glass. Ever since Kendall’s press conference, her life hasn’t exactly been a picnic, either.

“Right now it’s going well, and we’re managing it as best as we can. But it’s hard to say how we’re going to sustain it,” Gerri says. “Especially with Logan on trial and the company name being dragged through the mud every day. Cruises is a nightmare; we’re trying to figure out what to do with the division but of course nobody wants it. Sometimes it feels impossible. And I thought being General Counsel was challenging.”

“Come on, Gerri, give yourself some credit,” Cyd persuades. “You and Roman are doing an amazing job turning it around. And I hear the deal with Maxim is close to being finalized, which would be amazing.”

“It _would_ be great for us, and Roman is really proving how badly he wants to be seen as someone who makes the deal, but… “

“It kind of sounds like your heart’s not in it anymore,” Karolina says.

Gerri considers this. While her thing with Roman certainly makes going to work more enticing than before, it’s not exactly enough to keep her completely engaged. It’s difficult being CEO of a company that has to claw its way back from the dead.

“That’s not untrue,” Gerri admits. “I’m probably just burned out. Hopefully once the trial is over and things get back to normal, I’ll have room to breathe again.

“Why do you still work for that company when you can do so much better on your own?” Anastasia asks. “Really, Ger, we’ve all been wondering that for a long time.”

Gerri shrugs. “I guess working for the devil I know is better than working for one I don’t. I get Logan. I understand how he thinks. And his loyalty to me is real.” _Plus, I’m involved in a weird relationship with his son,_ would be an odd thing to add to the conversation.

“Don’t forget--you get to go to a lot of exotic locations on a beautiful yacht,” Karolina says. Gerri thinks she may still be bitter about not going to Croatia with everyone else, but Gerri always assures her she didn’t miss much. 

Anastasia and Cyd are on a tear about the state of cable news when Gerri gets a group text from her daughters Ginger and Jennifer. 

_Ginger: Hi mom, I’m with Jennifer, we are going to a concert tonight. We luv you!_

_Jennifer: wish u were here!_

Gerri smiles and texts them back, glad that they decided to move in together in Chicago while Jennifer teaches the first grade, and Ginger pursues her law degree. She likes having her daughters in one place; she likes knowing what they’re doing and when they are thinking about her. 

_Gerri: Miss you girls. Call me tomorrow._

_Jennifer: We will!_

Gerri gets another text shortly after…

_Roman: When do all those old cows leave? I wanna come home and stick things in you_

_Gerri: We’re still drinking… go stick it somewhere else for now_

This is the moment Cyd comes out from the bathroom, looking visibly shocked. Gerri wonders if she forgot to flush the toilet or something.

“Cyd? What in the world…”

Cyd quietly hands Gerri a post-it note.

“This was on your mirror… I guess you didn’t see it yet?” Cyd says, obviously holding back some kind of laughter explosion. 

Gerri had not seen it yet. She should have known to check the bathroom before her guests came; she was so good about hiding everything else that might be even tangentially Roman-related.

Roman loves leaving her notes to find around the apartment. Most of them are naughty but some of them are sweet, too. 

_G - gonna get my driver to go to the store and buy a gallon of milk, then we can take turns licking it off each other like kitten perverts - the Rominator_

Gerri sighs. She sits there like a statue as the note is passed around to all the girls, who gasp and laugh and tease her for being a cougar, and just generally get a kick out of Gerri’s big secret.

Karolina chuckles and says, “Finally! Now we can actually talk about it.”

“What? You knew about this, you traitor?!” Cyd asks Karolina.

“Of course I knew. I work with them both! They think they’re so sneaky, but Roman has no poker face. He walks around all day like he just won the lottery or something. Plus there’s all the secret, _longing_ looks and the occasional covert make-out session that they’re really bad at hiding.”

Gerri feels like her face is on fire. She thought they were being so clever with hiding their affair from everyone, but now the jig is officially up.

“How mortifying,” Gerri mutters. 

“Well, for you it is,” Karolina says, laughing. “But for Roman it’s definitely a step up on the ladder.”

“Wait--this is _Roman Roy_ we’re talking about here? Logan’s youngest son? The one who drove his brand new Ferrari into a pool on his 17th birthday? The one who is 30 years old?! _That_ Roman?” Sara looks exasperated and thrilled at the same time.

“Yes, Sara, thank you,” Gerri says. “I appreciate you remembering that. Also he’s 35.”

“Well...aside from the fact that you are so much older than him and that he is kind of an idiot, why else is it mortifying?” Anastasia asks. Gerri looks at her with raised eyebrows. “No, I’m asking a serious question, Gerri. He’s obviously living here, or thinks he’s living here, anyway. You must enjoy his company. Hell, you might even be in love with him, right? So what’s the big deal?”

This is not a line of questioning Gerri expected, but she has to admit that Anastasia is right. Still…

“Seriously. Roman Roy used to be an infamous dipshit, but everyone can see how he’s becoming a real human. He’s attractive, he’s young, and with your help, he’s turning Waystar into a functioning company again. Be proud of your charismatic stable boy.” Sara says, grinning.

“I suppose ‘mortifying’ is the wrong word,” Gerri says. “I do care for him. And he’d do anything for me. It’s just… something I never expected.”

“That’s the best kind of affair there is,” Karolina says. “The ones I never saw coming were the relationships that were the most memorable.”

Everyone nods. Gerri can’t argue with that. She and Baird had a straight-forward courtship; she was in law school and he was a first year teaching assistant, and it all happened in an orderly and predictable manner. While she did love him, there was rarely much passion between them. She’d never have a boring life with Roman. Maybe that’s what she finds so thrilling about it.

“Is he just amazing in bed?” Cyd asks eagerly--and drunkenly. Gerri can’t help but laugh.

Gerri imitates zipping her lips and all the women groan. They demand she give them all the disgusting details, but she keeps that part of their lives to herself. Especially since she and Roman are still working that out themselves. It has potential, that’s for sure. Also, she has a plan…

The girls continue to drink wine and laugh and tease Gerri about Roman. When they leave, Gerri texts Roman to come on back home. They fall asleep together, both kind of drunk and happy.


	5. Chapter 5

G: _Still at the office?_

R: **of course i’m always fucking here**

G: _Come home--now_

Roman is in the middle of… something important, he thinks, but he immediately forgets what it is he’s supposed to be doing once he gets the text. She’s basically his boss (how the tides have turned) and if she tells him to come home, he’s going to come home.

Roman practically runs outside in the pouring rain and flags down his driver, and on the way to the apartment, he ponders what she could possibly want with him at this time of day. It’s noon on a Tuesday. They both collectively have so much to do, they could work literally 24/7 and still never get it all finished. He’s trying his best to keep up with her, but a midday meeting at what is slowly becoming the only place Roman wants to be is still a surprising invitation.

When the car reaches Gerri’s apartment on the Upper West Side, Roman leaps out of it, not bothering with an umbrella, and bounds up the stairs. He rings the doorbell but she doesn’t answer, so he finds the key she gave him only last week (he practically had to beg for it) and enters the apartment. Gerri is still nowhere to be found, but there’s soft music playing in the direction of the bedroom. He follows the music.

In Gerri’s bedroom, the only light is the soft hue of an antique brass lamp on the bedside table, with a candle beside it; the candle gives the room the aroma of a slight ocean breeze. The music playing is Bob Dylan, whom Gerri has often mentioned is her favorite artist. Roman wants to call out for her, but he tries to be patient. She is the one who asked him to meet her here, so it would make sense that they’re playing by her rules now.

Finally she appears from her bathroom, wearing a satin robe, and underneath that robe, a clingy black slip, stockings, and a lacy black garter belt. Her hair is down, in curly blonde waves around her shoulders, and of course she’s still wearing her glasses and her pearls. In his wildest dreams, Roman never pictured her like this. He immediately rushes up to her, ready to take it all off, or at least touch the satin, or what’s underneath the satin. But from the look on Gerri’s face, he knows that’s not allowed. Not yet.

“Um, wow? You look fucking hot. What did I do to deserve this?” 

“You said you wanted it. Well, you’re going to get it now,” Gerri says, her voice sounding like honey and fire.

Roman’s mind immediately flashes back to a late night a week ago or so. They were going over more paperwork for the Maxim deal, and his eyes were about to glaze over.

“You know… we could just fuck. Right now. Right here on this desk.” 

Gerri doesn’t even look up from her laptop. “Oh, yeah? Right here, right now?”

“Right fucking now,” he declares.

“Tell me, Rome,” she says, looking intrigued. “If I were to get on the desk--which is not happening, by the way--and spread my legs for you, would you even want that? Without all the insults and the name-calling, etc.”

He’s used to this kind of questioning from his girlfriends. But Gerri’s the only one who doesn’t sound like she’s sitting in judgement. It’s more like… she wants to understand his motivations or something. And obviously she needs to get something out of this whole deal, too--and he wants to provide it for her. They haven't progressed much from their one hot afternoon on the yacht. There's been barely a moment to even _think_ about having sex, much less attempt to.

Roman’s voice is more vulnerable than he'd prefer. “I think I want… to want it? I don’t know--I can’t explain it, really. But I do want to fuck you. Badly.”

“So noted.”

“But the name-calling and the insults and the concept of whips, chains, handcuffs, etc.; that’s not off the table, is it?” Roman sounds hopeful. 

“Obviously not,” Gerri replies, without looking up at him. “I wouldn’t want to fix something that’s not broken.” And then she changes the subject, leaving Roman high and dry for the moment.

Roman thought Gerri had forgotten about the conversation altogether, but it appears that Gerri took him seriously, and now she’s going to take matters into her own hands.

She reaches out for Roman’s hand. “We’ll go slow. Okay? No rush. I told both our assistants that we’re out of the office for the afternoon. No one is looking for us, I promise you.”

This calms Roman down more than anything; it seems like every moment of every day and most moments during the night, someone wants something. It never ends. An afternoon with no commitments other than pleasuring Gerri is absolutely what Roman needs after so many months of stress and responsibility. 

He knows he can’t ask Gerri to do some of the things his girlfriends (is that what Gerri is now?) have begrudgingly played along with in the past. If he asked her to pretend she was dead, well--he can’t even picture that particular scenario at all, actually. And he doesn’t want to, not now. They’re both too busy to indulge in his fetishes. Which, if he thinks about it, is more of a relief than anything else. 

“I want you to tell me if any of this is too much,” she says, in a reassuring but still somehow bossy tone. “Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Roman nods. 

Gerri comes closer, and she leans in to kiss him. Softly at first, and then, as he kisses back with hunger, more passionately. Kissing is cool. Roman enjoys kissing. He especially enjoys kissing Gerri. 

As he touches her, caresses her, kisses her, even bites her a little--which he can tell that she’s into by the heaviness of her moans--he can’t help but notice the small differences from the other women he’s touched like this. Her body is a little softer and her skin is not as elastic. Obviously none of these things matter. He’s on a mission and nothing will distract him.

He doesn’t immediately get hard, but Gerri is patient. She takes the time to touch Roman, kiss Roman, figure out what he likes and doesn’t care for as much. He’s not that into her licking his earlobe, for example, but he does quite like the pressure from her lips on his collarbone. Apparently he likes it _a lot,_ which Gerri notices and appreciates. 

Roman finally reaches the realization that he hasn’t spent a lot of time in the past focusing on his partners--his main focus was always just to get through it and come out of the other side, so to speak. However, with Gerri, he wants to please her--he wants to get it right. He touches her everywhere; he kisses her neck, her breasts, her inner thighs. When he gently pushes her satin panties aside and touches her, she gasps a little, and he is pleased to see how wet she is for his touch. Although he wants to ask her if this is good, if she likes it--her moans are all the proof he needs to continue.

When they have both basically brought each other to a frenzy, Gerri whispers in his ear, “Are you ready?” And Roman obviously knows what she’s asking.

“I’m ready,” he breathes. 

Gerri pushes him down on the bed with a sexy grin. Before the fun continues, she reaches into the drawer on the bedside table and gets out a condom. Roman watches with interest as she puts it on him, enjoying the contact already. To preserve his safety (and dignity, he supposes), he bites back a joke about how at least they don’t need to worry about her getting pregnant. 

Gerri slowly but confidently places herself on top of him. Roman doesn’t even know how long it’s been since he’s actually looked forward to intercourse, but as soon as he enters her, as soon as she closes her eyes for half a second and steadies herself, as soon as she bites her lip to keep from gasping again… he knows this time will be different. And it is. He enjoys her warmth, her wetness, watching her rhythm and movements. It’s been way too long for both of them, and they take their time to get it perfectly right. 

When it’s over--and it’s not over quickly--they lay side by side, both trying to catch their breath. 

“That was… fucking great,” Roman manages to eventually say.

“It certainly was,” Gerri agrees. 

“What was it like being with a young stud after so long?” Roman can’t help himself. He really can’t.

“I’ll let you know when I’ve been with one,” Gerri says, but she finds his hand and squeezes it. 

Roman decides later that this is their weird way of saying “I love you” to each other. 

It’s enough for now.

*****

There’s a voice that Gerri reserves for Roman, he’s noticed. She only uses it in the softest of moments. When she’s tired, when she just woke up, when she wants something from him, when she’s trying to show him that he has her full attention. It’s different from her normal “business hours” voice, or even the one she uses in conversations with friends. It’s the voice she uses just for him, and he savors it so dearly that it nearly startles him. He’s in too deep, but… he doesn’t want out.

*****

It’s Roman’s idea to go to Central Park on Sunday afternoon. It’s overcast, and slightly chilly, and as usual they both need a break.

“Why Central Park?” Gerri asks curiously. They’re enjoying a somewhat lazy breakfast at home; Roman is playing solitaire on his phone and eating Cocoa Crispies while Gerri is reading the paper and enjoying her usual blueberry oatmeal. It’s a typical Sunday morning these days.

“I don’t know; these past couple of weeks have made me feel like a fucking normo couple or something,” Roman says, somewhat embarrassed. “It’s like you’ve turned me into some regulation boyfriend. Tabitha would be horrified if she knew what you’ve done with me.”

Gerri grins in spite of herself. “I haven’t done anything with you, Rome. You’re just in an adult relationship for the first time. Congratulations.”

Roman supposes the events of the last few years have brought out the adult in him that he had been trying to hide as long as possible. His dad’s stroke, stepping up at the company, management training, being held hostage, taking the role as sole COO, and obviously falling hard for his dad’s general counsel have all made a dent in his identity. 

They bring a bottle of wine and some glasses to the park--they even have a fucking blanket like they do this all the time. Gerri takes along a book of poetry she’s been trying to read for months. They find a corner of the park that isn’t being used by dogs catching frisbees and teenagers taking selfies and whatever the fuck happens at Central Park on a Sunday. 

Gerri spreads out the blanket while Roman pours the wine. They sit close together--Gerri takes longer to situate herself since her knees are like rubber bands these days. 

“Would it be weird if we just laid down and fucked right here?” Roman says, earning a well-deserved punch on the shoulder.

“With the kinds of noises you make? We’d be arrested in seconds,” Gerri says. Roman nods knowingly.

Roman is glued to his phone, sending texts and answering emails, checking Twitter; the usual things his dumbass mind will let him focus on for seconds at a time. Gerri reads her book of poetry, looking thoughtful. Roman wants to bite her lip or something. He loves it when she looks so serious, so focused; he admires the way she is able to devour something so intensely. 

"Read me a poem or something,” Roman blurts out.

“What? Why?” Gerri is genuinely befuddled.

“I like your voice,” Roman admits. “It gives me a boner.”

“Obviously,” Gerri says. “We wouldn’t be in this situation if it weren’t for you being a slime puppy.”

Roman feels a slight twitch in his pants that he tries hard--so to speak--to ignore for the time being.

“Read me a poem, goddammit,” Roman says, and Gerri shakes her head, but she flips to a page she has bookmarked. Her voice is like balm to Roman’s soul, and he can’t take his eyes off of her as she reads.

“somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond  
any experience,your eyes have their silence:  
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,  
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look easily will unclose me  
though i have closed myself as fingers,  
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens  
(touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose

or if your wish be to close me,i and  
my life will shut very beautifully,suddenly,  
as when the heart of this flower imagines  
the snow carefully everywhere descending;

nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals  
the power of your intense fragility:whose texture  
compels me with the colour of its countries,  
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes  
and opens;only something in me understands  
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)  
nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands…”

“Wow,” Roman is eventually able to say when Gerri finishes. “I’ve never given a single fuck about poetry but that was… something..”

“Yes, e.e. Cummings is my favorite,” Gerri says.

“You had that one bookmarked.”

“I did. Ever since I read it for the first time, it has always resonatedwith me. I don’t know, there’s something about it.”

“It kind of… reminds me of us?” Roman says softly. And when Gerri looks up from her book into his eyes, the expression on her face is something he’ll remember, because he knows now. She feels exactly the same way as he does. It doesn’t matter how many bullshit games they play, how busy they are trying to keep a company from sinking, who knows or doesn’t know about them… Roman realizes that this is for real, they can’t hide from it, and why would he even want to?

*****

There’s a moment when Gerri knows things have completely changed and they can’t go back.

It’s a regular day at the office. Gerri is in a meeting about the finalizing of the Maxim purchase. She’s listening to the lawyers drone on about the legal babble--all of which she obviously already knows, and probably better than them--when Roman comes into the room, looking smug and ambitious and capable and hot. 

“Hi fellas, just thought I’d come in and listen to the bullshit,” Roman says, and sits down at the table across from Gerri.

“Always nice to have you, Roman, but you don’t need to be at this meeting. We’re just wrapping up the Maxim deal with a pretty little bow for you,” Frank says.

Roman nods. “Oh, I know. Pretend I’m not here.”

He takes a seat across from Gerri and she can’t help but smile at him, a genuine, content smile. And that’s when she realizes that she’s… _happy_. Work is going well and the company is no longer a punchline in the media landscape. But more than that… her thing with Roman is giving her a new reason to get up in the morning. It helps that Roman is usually right beside her when she awakens. He likes it when she rouses him by gently rubbing his arm. He’ll slowly open his eyes, see Gerri, and sleepily grin at her like she’s the Queen of fucking England. Even before she has a chance to put her make-up on and all. 

She never saw this coming. Maybe in the beginning her thing with Roman was mostly strategic, but now… it’s everything. Which, to say the least, is quite startling. It’s freaking her out a little, to tell the truth. Something inside of her is aching to run away, to leave him behind, to return to her single life where she came home to her empty apartment and slept alone. She's trying her hardest to ignore that ugly voice in her head.

When the meeting is over and everyone has left the room, Roman looks across the table at Gerri.

“What are you smiling about?” He asks with his own cheeky grin.

“I’m just glad we’re getting this Maxim deal off the ground. It’ll be great for the company.”

“ _You’re_ great for the company,” he says. She chuckles.

“Let’s go to my office,” Gerri says in her low voice. “I have something to show you.”

Roman predictably perks up. “Oh, yeah? Have I been a bad boy?”

“You’ve been the worst boy,” Gerri says. Roman pops up out of his chair and follows her like a puppy to her office, where she closes the door and the blinds and calls him all of his favorite names. 

It’s a good day. 

It’s the day Gerri decides she’s not going to tell Roman about Justin McMillan until absolutely necessary. It’s not worth it to get him all upset about what will probably amount to nothing. 

Probably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to do yourself a favor, listen to the Slate Money podcast with J. Smith-Cameron. She reads a poem at the end and it's truly magical.


	6. Chapter 6

The second time Roman spots Justin, the smug-looking asshole is leaving the Waystar RoyCo building and stepping into one of the nicest looking cars Roman has ever seen. He watches as Justin’s driver speeds away, and he wonders what the hell he was doing at Waystar once again. Roman spends practically every moment of the day with Gerri and doesn’t suspect that she’s, like, cheating on him or whatever, but this guy is starting to make him feel weird and suspicious, which he does not enjoy or appreciate.

The third time he sees Justin, it’s in Gerri’s office again. Now Roman is truly pissed. How come Gerri hasn’t told him about this guy yet? Actually… he’s not completely surprised. Things between them had gotten a little strained lately and he doesn’t know why, or how to fix it. It’s so weird; they went from literally almost declaring their love for each other to Gerri slowly backing away, and Roman can’t figure out what he did wrong. It kind of fucking sucks.

Justin is in her office for a long fucking time, too. When he _finally_ leaves, Roman gives Gerri a respectable seven minutes or so before he can’t take it any longer. He rushes into her office like a man on a mission.

“Hey, Rome. I was just finishing up that proposal--”

“Oh, you were? Because it looks like you were finishing up Justin MacDoucheface,” he says, and instantly feels like a huge tool. Yet, he can’t help himself. This has gone far enough.

Gerri immediately looks annoyed with Roman’s immaturity. “Yes, I had a meeting with a colleague. Thank you for noticing.”

Roman exhales. He turns around and closes the door before they start to attract attention. 

“Who is he, Gerri? Why does he keep coming in and out of your office like it’s his own personal meat market?”

“Roman, please. Use your words. What exactly is upsetting you?”

The way she's addressing him, as though he's some kind of petulant child and not her trusted partner and whatever the fuck, is particularly infuriating.

“It’s ‘upsetting’ because you still haven’t told me who this fucknut is. I’m the COO, Gerri. I need to be informed of who you meet with so I can know what is going on in the company.” So… there.

“Not necessarily, Roman. That’s not necessarily how this works. But I suppose you are entitled to know why Justin has been coming by so often. The board wants him to come in as COO. He’s done wonderful things with Maxwell & Company and they think he would fit in well here.”

Roman stares at her. He wonders to himself if he’s ever felt so completely and utterly shocked, heartbroken, and angry all at once. He doubts it.

“Um, excuse me, Gerri, but that doesn’t make any fucking sense. I’m the COO. You can even see my name in the fucking company name--you know, Waystar ROYco. How is that even possible?”

Gerri sighs. “It’s out of my hands. I’m sorry, Rome, you know I think you’re doing a good job. But Justin has more experience. The board didn’t give me a choice.”

“That’s bullshit. You can tell the board that I’m qualified for this job. Is it my fucking imagination or have you and I been the ones that have turned this company around? We’re making a profit. We’re coming up with new ideas. What the fuck, Gerri?”

“Unfortunately it’s not up to me,” Gerri says, refusing to look him in the eye. “My hands are tied.”

“ _Your hands are tied?_ ” Roman repeats, bewildered. “Wait… are you fucking him? Is that what this is really about?”

Gerri’s expression doesn’t change. How she can stand there and be so emotionless during their first big fight is making Roman crazy.

“No, I’m not. I don’t know about you, but when I’m in a relationship, I don’t ‘fuck’ anyone else.”

“Yeah? Well, when _I’m_ in a relationship, I try not to _fuck_ them over from the position that rightfully belongs to them.”

Gerri finally shows some sign of emotion. She takes off her glasses and pinches her nose. “Roman, calm down. This is getting too complicated. It’s not black and white; it doesn’t have to be one thing or the other. We can talk about this later, at home.”

Roman can’t figure it out. He’s obviously mad because he is nailing this COO thing and doesn’t think he should be replaced so easily. But it’s worse because it’s Gerri who is bringing him the news. He's starting to come to a distressing realization...

“You really don’t take me seriously, do you? In the office _or_ out of it. I’m just a fucking plaything for when you get bored. This is getting old, Gerri. I deserve more than this.”

Gerri exhales. “I know, and I agree with you. But this is all I can offer right now. I’m sorry.”

Roman is speechless for a moment while he tries to figure out what to say or do. The only thing that comes to mind is the infamous Roy family motto...

“Fuck off,” Roman spits out, and leaves Gerri’s office, slamming the door behind him. This gets a few interested looks from everyone who happens to be around, but he can’t see anything but blind anger and uncontrollable fear that he’s just been betrayed by the only person he thought he could trust.

*****

Roman knocks on Kendall’s penthouse door after throwing a few too many beers back with his old boarding school pals at a bar in Brooklyn. Kendall answers, not looking so sober himself.

“Hey, man, mind if I stay here tonight?” Roman asks, and Kendall merely nods and lets him in. They haven’t spoken in months, but that doesn’t seem to matter on this particular evening. That’s how it’s always been with the two of them. They will stab each other in the back if it means they can get one step ahead, but if they truly need one another, all is forgotten.

They share a bottle of bourbon and a joint. At first they’re both quiet, contemplating what they should even talk about. Roman decides that they should have a real conversation, just as he requested after his hostage ordeal. 

“So why’d you do it, Ken? I mean, I guess I kind of get it… Dad was going to throw you under the bus for something you didn’t have any responsibility for, which obviously is bullshit. But why’d you do it that way? In front of the whole fuckin’ world?”

Kendall doesn’t answer right away. He takes so long to answer that Roman almost wants to yell at him to say something, fucking anything maybe? Instead, Roman takes another hit from the joint, which hopefully will mellow him out a bit more.

“It’s hard to explain why, but Dad talked to me before he sent me off to do his bidding. The bullshit he spewed was infuriating, Rome. And it was almost like he wanted me to do it. He wanted me to get up there and sell him out. I truly believe that.”

“I think you’re full of shit but okay…” Roman says.

“I know. I understand you and Shiv think I’m the bad guy and you may be right. But it had to be done. Dad wanted a way out and he got it. Just like he wanted.”

They both drain their glasses and pour more bourbon. Roman takes a huge gulp.

“So what the fuck is wrong with you? I haven’t seen you look so shitty since Buster died.” Kendall says.

“Ah, Buster. He was the best fuckin’ dog ever. I still think Mom murdered him in the middle of the night and came up with the story about being hit by a car to cover her tracks. But that’s a story for another time,” Roman says. He takes another gulp and then sighs. If he’s going to tell anyone the real reason…

“Gerri is either fucking another guy or she’s bringing him in as COO. I’m not sure what’s worse, actually. Either option is shitty.”

“What do you care if Gerri is fucking someone else?” Kendall looks slightly confused.

“Because I want to be the only person who’s fucking her,” Roman says. 

Kendall stares at Roman for a minute and then laughs. He laughs a lot. Roman supposes he deserves it. 

“Oh, my god. Roman, you are such a fucking idiot. You and Gerri? You and fucking Gerri? She’s like your mom, dude. She’s more your mom than your actual mom. Oh, my god. That is so fucked up.”

Roman shrugs. He’s not really in the mood to defend himself currently. 

“What do you two even do together? Sit at her apartment and watch _Murder She Wrote_?” Kendall cracks himself up.

“Dude, she’s not _that_ old. We mostly fucking work. Like all the goddamn time. When we’re not working, we’re… doing other stuff. And watching _Law and Order.”_

Kendall continues to stare at him. Roman can feel himself breaking down a little. Why not talk a little shit? He’s fucking heartbroken, for crying out loud.

“We don’t go out much… I mean, obviously she doesn’t want to go to the club or the restaurants that I like or anything cool. We listen to her fucking boomer music all the time. She’s got bad knees so she never wants to work out or go for long walks and shit. It sucks! It fucking sucks.”

Kendall takes another long drag off the joint. “But it doesn’t really fucking suck, right? If it did, you wouldn’t be here at my apartment looking like a dingleberry on a dog’s ass.”

“No… it doesn’t suck. I kind of like her music. And staying at home reading fucking books instead of going out to a loud club. It’s peaceful. Ah, fuck,” Roman says, depressed again. 

“Dude, are you like… in love with Gerri Kellman?” Kendall asks, looking overjoyed with this information.

“Maybe. I don’t know. I guess. Whatever.” It’s not like Roman hasn’t known this for months now. Of course he loves Gerri. Who wouldn’t? Fuck.

“That’s fuckin’ hilarious. Good for you, bro. I won’t even ask how the sex is…” 

Thankfully Kendall’s phone buzzes before Roman is tempted to answer that statement, and apparently it’s Naomi, because he immediately gets up and goes to the balcony to talk in private.

Roman glances down at his phone. No texts, no missed calls, nothing. If he were at Gerri’s right now, they’d be watching _Law and Order: SVU_ and Roman would be rubbing her feet. She would gleefully tell him all the inaccuracies with the law stuff. It was her favorite hobby. It hurts that she is letting the board bring someone else in for COO. Roman has been working his ass off for months now and the company is finally starting to have something to show for it. He made the Maxim deal practically by himself. Has he not earned the right to be taken seriously?

More than that, what if Gerri really is fucking this Justin guy? Fuck. He’s never cared so much about anyone in his whole fucking life as he does for Gerri. It’s disgusting, actually. Kendall comes back from the balcony. 

“Are you out of here? To go bang your rich as fuck girlfriend?” Roman asks, trying not to sound like a jealous cuntwaffle.

“Nah. I told her I was hanging out with my little brother, who needs me right now,” Kendall says.

“Fuck you,” Roman says. “Do you want to watch _Law and Order: SVU?”_

Kendall laughs. “Of course I do.”

Kendall sits down next to his brother, and they watch _Law and Order_ while sharing a bag of Fritos.


	7. Chapter 7

It’s obviously a small Christmas this year. Shiv and Tom, who are still on shaky ground but are trying to make it work, are hosting it at the country house in Vermont. Roman comes by himself, determined to feel completely fucking miserable and hopeless. Kendall brings Naomi, which was the subject of many back and forth conversations between everyone else, but ultimately agreed to out of the spirit of Christmas kindness--or something. Connor obviously brings Willa; neither of them are in the best of moods since Connor is broke and Willa’s play came to an abrupt halt. Greg sort of brought himself along. 

Logan is hiding out somewhere with Marcia, who showed back up to support him during his trial. The kids are all admittedly grateful that they don’t have to appease their father this year, and bonus--Caroline also backed out of their new deal to have Christmas in England. Roman thinks it’s because she doesn’t want all the drama this year. Roman doesn’t particularly blame her.

It’s been a few weeks since Gerri and Roman’s “thing” came to an end. They still have to work together every fucking day, so that’s great and awkward. Somehow they’ve managed to do it civilly, calling an unspoken compromise to get through the day without too much pain. It’s terrible, actually. Roman doesn’t know how he’ll ever get used to this. But Gerri clearly doesn’t have his back. They’re not in the same place; they’re not on the same page, they don’t want the same things. Or whatever the fuck. Roman does still have his pride and he’s not going to be with someone who doesn’t respect him. Meanwhile, he’ll go back to Kendall’s every night until he finds his own depressing place to be a fucking disaster in peace and quiet.

The Christmas gifts have been opened, and everyone was more or less satisfied with their haul this year. It’s the first Christmas the kids have spent without Logan and/or Caroline, and although they haven’t exactly talked about it, they would all acknowledge that it’s kind of weird. Logan always bought the biggest, best presents; he liked Christmas because it gave him a chance to buy his kids’ love. They would also admit it was nice to spend it with each other and not have to placate Logan’s ego and random drunken outbursts. 

Now Shiv and Tom are attempting to cook dinner, although by the sounds in the kitchen, it’s not going all that well. Roman is sitting by the fire in the living room and looking through an ancient photo album, three bourbons into the evening. Greg, Kendall and Naomi are playing Trivial Pursuit, and not surprisingly to Roman, Naomi is kicking the boys’ asses. Connor and Willa are on their phones, barely speaking to each other for whatever reason Roman couldn’t give less of a fuck about. 

Roman is staring at a picture of himself, Shiv and Kendall with an elephant. He vaguely remembers when Logan hired a traveling circus to come to the mansion for Shiv’s sixth birthday party. Did they really do insane fuckery like that once upon a time? _God, rich people really are douchebags,_ Roman thinks to himself. His thoughts are interrupted by the doorbell. And then his night really goes to shit.

“Who the fuck is that?” Tom yells from the kitchen. “We’re all here!”

“I’ll get it!” Connor yells back from the living room. “I need something to do. Hey, it’s Gerri! Gerri alert!”

“Hi, Con. Nice to see you,” Roman hears Gerri say by the doorway.

Roman can’t believe it. He just can’t believe what he’s seeing right now. Not a single person could have told him that Gerri was invited for Christmas dinner?! _She_ couldn’t have texted him to give him a heads up? She came all the way to fucking Vermont to ruin his entire day? This is a disaster of epic proportions in Roman’s estimation.

“Hi, Gerri. Thanks for coming,” Shiv says, walking into the living room to greet her godmother.

“Gerri came all the way to Vermont to have dinner? Wow, you must really love us,” Tom says. Roman bites his tongue. Hard.

“My daughter and her husband were at his parents’ in New Hampshire, so I came up to see them for the day,“ Gerri explains. “And I decided to take Shiv up on the invitation.”

“Great! We’re always glad to have more Gerri,” Tom says. Roman rolls his eyes

Kendall makes his way over to Roman and sits next to him by the fire.

“You okay, bro?”

“No, not in any kind of way am I okay,” Roman whispers back. “But it’ll be fine. Thanks.”

Kendall nods, but doesn’t get up. Roman is grateful for the moral support.

Tom makes Gerri a martini while she greets everyone. 

“Kendall, Roman, hello. Merry Christmas.” She nods to Roman, as though she hasn't completely broken his heart and stepped on the pieces.

Kendall and Roman both just nod back. Roman avoids her gaze. Of course she looks beautiful, all regal and proper in her Christmas outfit and pearls, her hair down, her eyes warm. He also knows exactly what bra she’s wearing under her white blouse and probably what underwear she has on, too. She’s mostly a predictable kind of woman, which he always appreciated. Except for this moment, when she showed up unexpectedly at his family’s Christmas dinner. Sometimes she was also quite unpredictable in the bedroom, which--no, that is not where Roman wants his thought process to go currently.

Gerri makes her way to the kitchen and asks Tom how she can help. Roman continues looking through the photo album, almost wishing he was about 20 years younger so that the appearance of his father’s general counsel wouldn’t completely devastate him. 

Twenty minutes later, Shiv announces, “Okay, ready or not, it’s time for dinner. Get your asses in the kitchen.”

Everyone assembles in the kitchen to inspect the offerings before them, which actually doesn’t look that bad. There’s a beautiful ham, rolls, asparagus, sweet potatoes, and many other items that seem edible.

“Wow, guys, did you call out for catering while we weren’t looking?” Connor asks, grabbing a plate.

“No, we actually cooked all of this for you ungrateful assholes,” Shiv says. “Not you, Gerri, the other assholes.”

Roman follows the rest of his siblings and heaps piles of food on his plate. He’s going to do some emotional eating tonight. 

When everyone is sitting down and already sticking ham into their greedy mouths, Shiv says, “Wait a minute! Wait. Should we say grace? Dad always says grace.”

They all look at each other, perhaps feeling a little guilty that they started eating without upholding tradition.

“Naomi? Do you want to spout some pretentious Shakespearean bullshit before we eat?”

“Roman… not cool, bro,” Kendall says. Naomi just laughs.

“Fuck grace, fuck Shakespeare, let’s just eat,” Roman adds. Everyone murmurs their agreement. Dinner has begun.

*****

Gerri watches Roman across the table, knowing that her presence is not exactly welcomed by him. She also recognizes that he is really, really drunk. He doesn’t talk much during dinner, which is very uncharacteristic for him. Roman has always been considered the entertainer at these affairs, and it doesn’t feel right to not roll her eyes every five minutes at something crude and dumb he announces to everyone at the table.

Since their argument a few weeks ago, Gerri has felt... well, terrible. Like something huge is missing from her life. She thought it would be a relief to finally be alone again, but it's just not true. It's unsettling how much she misses waking up with him every morning. Gerri realizes she made a huge mistake, and now she wants to rectify it. If that's even possible.

She actually has some important news to share with Roman and she’d rather not do it at dinner with all of his siblings and in-laws sitting there watching them talk. But if he’s going to sulk all night, she might not have any other option.

“So Tom, how’s News going lately? Still a complete horror show?” Connor asks.

“It’s great. Everything is wonderful. We’ve got it all under control,” Tom says, his face telling a different story.

“Very convincing, Tom. You’re so good at this,” Shiv says, and Tom frowns. “News is a nightmare every single day. But he gets paid a whole fuck of a lot so he’s not tempted to do anything about it right now.”

“That’s… not exactly how I’d put it, Shiv.”

“I think Dad would be relatively happy with the way the company is being run lately,” Kendall says. Everyone stares at him, since he’s the one who turned everything upside down in the first place. “Gerri is doing a great job as CEO. And Roman’s really proved himself as COO.”

“Haven’t you heard the news?” Roman says, slurring slightly. “I’m being replaced. Tell ‘em, Ger. Tell ‘em how you’re replacing me.”

All heads turn towards Gerri. _Well, here we go,_ she thinks. 

“What? You were going to replace Roman as COO? What the fuck?” Shiv says. Gerri fights back the urge to roll her eyes; Shiv is always reacting to news before she has a chance to find out if it’s true or not.

"Yes, well, the board wanted me to interview other people for the COO role. They narrowed it down to one, Justin McMillan…”

“Oh, he’s the COO of Maxwell & Company. He’s a rock star,” Tom says, looking intrigued. “He’s really going to be our new COO? What will happen with Roman?”

“Yeah, Ger… what will happen with Roman?” Roman asks belligerently. 

“Well, I have good news on that front. The board met yesterday and we had a discussion. Long story short, I convinced them that Roman is the right choice for COO. Justin has more experience, yes, but Roman is part of the family and Logan personally chose him to be sole COO. There was a vote, and ultimately the majority voted for Roman to remain in the position.”

She looks across the table at Roman, who is giving her his full attention now.

“Really?” Roman finally says. “You went to bat for me? And not Justin?”

“Really. You were always the right one for the job, Rome. Do you honestly think I would have picked someone else? I had to interview Justin to placate the board.”

She sees Kendall poke Roman to get his attention, and she realizes Ken knows everything now. Although she doesn’t love that Roman told him, she does appreciate that he and Kendall seem closer now. At least they are starting to mend their broken relationship.

“What about… you weren’t fucking that asshole?” Roman blurts out. She realizes with his level of drunkenness, they’re not exactly about to have a mature conversation about this.

“No, I wasn’t. He’s not my type,” Gerri says, with a small grin.

“Am I… your type?” 

Now they definitely have everyone’s attention. No one speaks while they wait for Gerri to answer this weird question.

Gerri pauses to take a long sip of wine before she answers. 

“You are now, Rome. Maybe not before a few months ago, but you are now.”

“Um, okay, what the fuck is happening?” Connor asks, staring at Gerri. 

“I think Gerri is trying to declare her love for Roman, is what’s happening, hon,” Willa says, nodding with approval.

Roman doesn’t pay attention to a word his siblings start yelling at him. He merely stands up and unsteadily walks over to Gerri. She gets up, and they kiss. A lot of kissing. Some disgusting kissing. 

“That is literally the most revolting thing I have ever seen,” Shiv says, making a face. “But shit… I guess it makes sense in a twisted way. What the fuck, congrats, guys. Cheers.”

“Cheers,” everyone says, and raises their glasses to the new odd couple in front of them.


	8. Chapter 8

Roman groans when he opens his eyes. The sun is violently shining through the curtains, and he can already tell this hangover is going to be one for the ages.

Gerri comes into the room at that moment looking like an angelic hallucination, all blonde and gorgeous, and… hands Roman an aspirin and a glass of water.

“Come on, sit up,” she says gently. Roman obeys, although it hurts to move. He takes the aspirin and drinks the water, and then finally looks at Gerri. She’s here. She’s here and she stood up for him to the board. Everything makes a little more sense now. 

“Thank you,” he says. “I’m sorry I was such a mess last night.”

“Yes, well, you’re _my_ mess,” Gerri says tenderly. Roman reaches for her hand. She gives it to him.

“So are we really doing this?” Roman says, his voice scratchy and low, like he spent all night screaming at a concert instead of drinking all the bourbon in the house.

“We’re doing it,” Gerri says. He doesn’t have to elaborate on what it is they’re doing. They’re doing it all.

“So… why did you freak out? Why didn’t you just tell me about the deal with the board and McDoucheFace? The secret to a lasting relationship is open and honest communication, you know.”

“Thank you, Dr. Phil,” Gerri says. She’s quiet for a moment, unsure of exactly how to answer this question, even though she’s thought about it a lot--constantly, really.

“I don’t have a good explanation… I guess the depth of my feelings for you, for us… was too much. It scared me.” Gerri shrugs, not knowing what else to say. 

“Well, fuck, Ger… it scares me all the time. Do you think I’ve ever fucking felt this way, either? Can we just, like, try not to freak out and bail on each other in the future? Maybe, you know, try to talk about stuff? I asked Ken and Shiv if we could do that after the whole hostage thing and they just made fun of me, which is fine, fucking whatever. But you and me… we need to be on the same page. God, I really do sound like Dr. Phil. Scary.”

“Yes… I want to try. For you I will try. Just be patient with me, perhaps. Give me some room when you sense I’m pulling away. I’ll be back. I’ll always come back.”

“Patience? Patience is the _least_ I owe you,” Roman says. “You’ve put up with me becoming a human being all these years. Of course I’ll be patient. Fuck.”

They share a look that speaks volumes. One of understanding, of future promises, of a certain kind of love that they don’t have to talk about to know that it exists.

But also, Roman can’t help himself. “Speaking of something we’ve been thinking about for a long time… you never answered my proposal. In Dundee. I wasn’t fucking around, Gerri. I was serious.”

“I know you were serious, but that was a different time. A lot of things have changed since then.”

“And? What would you have said back then?”

“I would have said no, Roman. I wasn’t ready. _You_ weren’t ready. Perhaps if you ask again, I’ll have a different answer this time.”

Roman tries to smile, but it hurts, so he stops trying. “Well… maybe I will. Ask again. Soon.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Gerri says. She kisses him on the cheek, and then a soft kiss on the lips. 

“So are you going to give me a hand job now or what?” Roman asks. “I hear it’s the best cure for a hangover.”

Gerri scoffs. “Sure, why not… after all, you are a no-good, shitball fuck up of a man, Roman.”

“Fuck yeah, I am. I can’t wait to fucking marry you and make you an honest woman.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Gerri says with a small smile. “Now get your dick out and stop talking.”

… And they lived happily ever after, or whatever.


End file.
